Red Snapper

About Red Snapper Research

In FY 2016, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program to use $5 million of its budget for Gulf of Mexico red snapper fisheries data collections, surveys and assessments independent of NMFS efforts. Congress also directed the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to use $5 million of its FY 2016 appropriation for complementary research on red snapper, including applications of advanced sampling technologies. Sea Grant and NMFS are working together through a joint steering committee to design an effective research program and to ensure its results can be used to develop an independent estimate of Gulf of Mexico red snapper stock abundance.

In March 2016, more than 60 people from academia, state management agencies, commercial and recreational fishing sectors, NMFS and Sea Grant attended a workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana. Among them, they had more than 1,000 years of red snapper work experience. The purpose of the workshop was to identify and prioritize research and data collection efforts that would improve the accuracy of Gulf of Mexico red snapper stock assessments. Workshop recommendations focused on creating a Gulf of Mexico-wide tagging and advanced technology program that accounts for habitat type. 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Project Overview

 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Habitat Classification

 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Direct Visual Counts

 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Direct Visual Counts

 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Depletion Studies

 

The Great Red Snapper Count: Tagging Study

The Great Red Snapper Count: Project Results

 

Fact sheets about the project:

Read the final report executive summary.

Read the final report.

Read the announcement about the project that received funding to study red snapper abundance.

See more details about the funded project.

Read the project proposal.

Visit the Harte Research Institute for the Gulf of Mexico Studies' Great Red Snapper Count website.